0000000000932499

AUTHOR

Tero Luukkonen

Comparison of organic peracids in wastewater treatment: Disinfection, oxidation and corrosion.

The use of organic peracids in wastewater treatment is attracting increasing interest. The common beneficial features of peracids are effective anti-microbial properties, lack of harmful disinfection by-products and high oxidation power. In this study performic (PFA), peracetic (PAA) and perpropionic acids (PPA) were synthesized and compared in laboratory batch experiments for the inactivation of Escherichia coli and enterococci in tertiary wastewater, oxidation of bisphenol-A and for corrosive properties. Disinfection tests revealed PFA to be a more potent disinfectant than PAA or PPA. 1.5 mg L(-1) dose and 2 min of contact time already resulted in 3.0 log E. coli and 1.2 log enterococci r…

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Sulphate removal over barium-modified blast-furnace-slag geopolymer

Blast-furnace slag and metakaolin were geopolymerised, modified with barium or treated with a combination of these methods in order to obtain an efficient SO4(2-) sorbent for mine water treatment. Of prepared materials, barium-modified blast-furnace slag geopolymer (Ba-BFS-GP) exhibited the highest SO4(2-) maximum sorption capacity (up to 119mgg(-1)) and it compared also favourably to materials reported in the literature. Therefore, Ba-BFS-GP was selected for further studies and the factors affecting to the sorption efficiency were assessed. Several isotherms were applied to describe the experimental results of Ba-BFS-GP and the Sips model showed the best fit. Kinetic studies showed that th…

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How to tackle the stringent sulfate removal requirements in mine water treatment-A review of potential methods.

Abstract Sulfate (SO₄²⁻) is a ubiquitous anion in natural waters. It is not considered toxic, but it may be detrimental to freshwater species at elevated concentrations. Mining activities are one significant source of anthropogenic sulfate into natural waters, mainly due to the exposure of sulfide mineral ores to weathering. There are several strategies for mitigating sulfate release, starting from preventing sulfate formation in the first place and ending at several end-of-pipe treatment options. Currently, the most widely used sulfate-removal process is precipitation as gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O). However, the lowest reachable concentration is theoretically 1500 mg L⁻¹ SO₄²⁻ due to gypsum’s solu…

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Sulphate removal over barium-modified blast-furnace-slag geopolymer

Blast-furnace slag and metakaolin were geopolymerised, modified with barium or treated with a combination of these methods in order to obtain an efficient SO42− sorbent for mine water treatment. Of prepared materials, barium-modified blast-furnace slag geopolymer (Ba-BFS-GP) exhibited the highest SO42− maximum sorption capacity (up to 119 mg g−1) and it compared also favourably to materials reported in the literature. Therefore, Ba-BFS-GP was selected for further studies and the factors affecting to the sorption efficiency were assessed. Several isotherms were applied to describe the experimental results of Ba-BFS-GP and the Sips model showed the best fit. Kinetic studies showed that the so…

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Removal of ammonium from municipal wastewater with powdered and granulated metakaolin geopolymer

Abstract Ammonium (NH₄⁺) removal from municipal wastewater poses challenges with the commonly used biological processes. Especially at low wastewater temperatures, the process is frequently ineffective and difficult to control. One alternative is to use ion-exchange. In the present study, a novel NH4+ ion-exchanger, metakaolin geopolymer (MK-GP), was prepared, characterised, and tested. Batch experiments with powdered MK-GP indicated that the maximum exchange capacities were 31.79, 28.77, and 17.75 mg/g in synthetic, screened, and pre-sedimented municipal wastewater, respectively, according to the Sips isotherm (R² ≥ 0.91). Kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order rate equation in all case…

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Metakaolin geopolymer characterization and application for ammonium removal from model solutions and landfill leachate

Abstract Geopolymers are aluminosilicate compounds that are amorphous analogues of zeolites, and thus possess similar cation-exchange properties. Geopolymers have been successfully applied to remove toxic metals and organic dyes from aqueous solutions. In this study, geopolymer was synthesized from metakaolin and applied to remove ammonium (NH 4 + ) from model solutions and landfill leachate. Geopolymerization increased the ammonium removal capacity, surface area and average pore width and changed the chemical structure of metakaolin. The maximum NH 4 + removal capacity of the geopolymer was 21.07 mg g − 1 which was 46% higher than the capacity of the reference clinoptilolite–heulandite zeo…

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Physical activation and characterization of tannin-based foams enforced with boric acid and zinc chloride

In this study, tannin-furanic-based foams enforced with H3BO3 and ZnCl2 are investigated, as well as their properties such as mechanical strength, specific surface area, and pore size distribution. From an industrial point of view, the aforementioned properties of these foams play a key role when used as catalyst, adsorbent, or gas storing materials. Therefore, this study aims to prove that such enforced tannin-furanic foams are promising materials for these types of applications. According to the results, materials that are up to five times stronger can be achieved by carbonizing the foams in comparison to maturing them. With physical activation, it was possible to obtain a specific surfac…

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